CHAPTER 1: The Science of Human Development Flashcards
The science of human development is the study of how and why people change as they grow
older, as well as how and why they remain the same.
TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
Most developmental psychologists prefer not to use the scientific method in studying
human development. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Every difference between a developing person and the norm is a deficit. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Children’s development—both physical and mental—follows a straight, linear growth pattern.TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Culture, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status are impossible for scientists to disentangle. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Most of us are unaware of the culture we transmit. TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
For the most accurate results, scientific observation should be performed in a laboratory.
TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
An experiment is always the best way to investigate a developmental issue. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Developmental psychologists almost never base their research on the study of one group of people over a long period of time. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
When two variables are correlated, it means that one caused the other. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
The science of human development seeks to…
…understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time.
Scientific method is a way to…
answer questions using empirical research and data-based conclusions
What are the 5 basic steps of the scientific method?
- begin with curiosity and pose a question
- develop a hypothesis
- test the hypothesis
- draw conclusions
- report the results
what is the 6th crucial step which is often needed before the scientific community accepts conclusions.
replication
What is nature?
general term for the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his/her parents at the moment of conception
What is nurture?
general term for all of the environmental influences that affect development after an individual is conceived
definition of epigenetic?
study of the many ways environment alters genetic expression, beginning with methylation at conception and continuing lifelong
definition of differential susceptibility?
Sensitivity to any particular experience differs from one person to another because of the particular genes each person has inherited, or what happened to that person years earlier
definition of life-span perspective?
Approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood
Development viewed as: mmmmp
– multidirectional – multicontextual – multicultural – multidisciplinary – plasticity
examples of several major theorists describe stages of development as a discontinuous process:
Freud, Erickson, Piaget.
Definition of Critical period:
Time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen if it is ever going to happen
Definition of Sensitive period:
Time when a certain type of development is most likely to happen or happens most easily, although it may still happen later with more difficulty
definition of teratogen?
A teratogen is any agent that causes an abnormality following fetal exposure during pregnancy.
Effects of teratogen: radiation
- distrusted development of central nervous system
- growth and development retardation
- microcephaly
Effects of teratogen: tobacco use by mother
- limb malformation
- urinary tract damage
Effects of teratogen: tobacco use by father (second-hand smoke)
- low birthweight
- reduction in weight by an average of 2 oz.
Effects of teratogen: alcohol
- fatal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
- fatal alcohol effect
- growth and developmental retardation
- craniofacial dysmorphism
Effects of teratogen: cocaine
- Growth retardation
- small head size
- premature birth
- problems with placenta
- low birth weight
- attention difficulties
- emotional regulation
what is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory?
Each person is affected by many social contexts and interpersonal interactions.
what was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory later called?
bioecological model
definition of cohort?
all persons born within a few years of one another; group defined by the shared age of its members
What is the socioeconomic status (SES)?
Person’s position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, and place of residence
Definition of social construction?
– Idea based on shared perceptions, not on objective reality
– Many age-related terms, such as childhood, adolescence, yuppie, and senior citizen, are social constructions.
What is meant by Difference-equals-deficit error?
Mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior to behavior or characteristics that meet the standard.
Definition of multicultural:
the systematic study of how culture influences affect, cognition, and behavior.
What are the three domains in human development?
- biological development
- cognitive development
- psychosocial development
What does the biological development domain include?
includes all the growth and change that occur in a person’s body and the genetic, nutritional, and health. motor skills
What does the cognitive development domain include?
Includes all the mental processes that a person uses to obtain knowledge or to think about the environment. cognition encompasses perception, imagination, judgement, memory, and language – the processes people use to think, decide, and learn.
What does the psychosocial development domain include?
includes development of emotions, temperament, and social skills. Family, friends, the community, the culture, and the larger society particularly central to the psychosocial domain
All important human characteristics are epigenetic. TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
Definition of Silo?
Storage tank for research in discipline isolated from other disciplines
Definition of Plasticity?
refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience
Plasticity denotes two complementary aspects of development. What are they?
– Human traits can be molded.
– People maintain a certain durability of identity.
Dynamic systems
– Human development is viewed as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction.
• Between the physical and emotional being
• Between the person and every aspect of his or her environment, including the family and society
what is the characteristic multidirectional?
change occurs in every direction, not always in a straight line. gains and losses, predictable growth, unexpected transformations are evident
what is the characteristic multidisciplinary?
numerous academic fields – especially psychology, biology, education, and sociology, but also neuroscience, economics, religion, anthropology, history, medicine, genetics, and many more – contribute insights
what is the characteristic multi contextual?
human lives are embedded in many contexts, including historical, conditions, economic constraints, and family patterns
what is the characteristic multicultural?
many cultures – not just between nations but also within them – affect how people develop
what is the characteristic plasticity?
every individual, and every trait within each individual, can be altered at any point in the life span. Change is ongoing, although it is neither random not easy
what are the 5 characteristics of development?
- multidirectional
- multidisciplinary
- multicontextual
- multicultural
- plasticity
what does scientific observation require?
requires the research to record behaviour systematically and objectively
definition of effect size?
a quantitative measure of the magnitude of the experimental effect. The larger the effect size the stronger the relationship between two variables.
definition of significance?
a relationship between two or more variables is caused by something other than chance
definition of odds ratio?
represents the odds that an outcome will occur given a particular exposure, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure.
definition of factor analysis?
a way to take a mass of data and shrinking it to a smaller data set that is more manageable and more understandable. It’s a way to find hidden patterns, show how those patterns overlap and show what characteristics are seen in multiple patterns.
definition of meta-analysis?
a research process used to systematically synthesise or merge the findings of single, independent studies, using statistical methods to calculate an overall or ‘absolute’ effect.
what does effect size indicate?
Indicates how much one variable affects another. Effect size ranges from 0 to 1: An effect size of 0.2 is called small, 0.5 moderate, and 0.8 large.
what does significant indicate?
Indicates whether the results might have occurred by chance. If chance would produce the results only 5 times in 100, that is significant at the 0.05 level, once in 100 times is 0.01; once in 1,000 is 0.001.
what does odds ratio indicate?
Indicates how a particular variable compares to a standard, set at 1. For example, one study found that, although less than 1 percent of all child homicides occurred at school, the odds were similar for public and private schools. The odds of it in high schools, however, were 18.47 times that of elementary or middle schools (set at 1.0) (MMWR, January 18, 2008).
what is the independent variable?
Variable that is introduced to see what effect it has on the dependent variable
what is the dependent variable?
Variable that may change as a result of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds
What is wrong with this study?
Professor Jones wants to study vocabulary growth in preschool children. He contacts
all of his faculty colleagues who have children, and from this group, he assembles a sample of 20 faculty children ranging from two to five years of age. To test each child’s word knowledge, Professor Jones reads each child a list of simple words that he has gathered from children’s storybooks and records whether or not the child understands each word. He then uses the results to publish norms (standard or expected levels of achievement) for vocabulary mastery for each year from two to five years of age.
a) no control group
b) biased or non-representative sample
c) interpreting a correlation as indicating cause and effect
d) experimenter bias (experimenters’ expectations influence the results)
e) participant bias (participants’ expectations influence the results)
b) biased or non-representative sample
Professor Jones tested only the children of college professors. This limited group is an example of a biased or non-representative sample.
The genetic inheritance and environmental experiences of faculty children could differ from those of the general population in important ways that would influence the rate of language development.
What’s wrong with this study?
Professor Okamoto is interested in the effects of prosocial TV on sharing behavior among preschool children. For clarification, prosocial actions are meant to benefit others rather than oneself. She assembles a sample of 100 children and then assigns each child at random to either the prosocial TV group or the neutral TV group.
The prosocial TV group views 30 minutes of TV with a prosocial theme while the neutral group views 30 minutes of TV with a neutral theme. After the children finish their TV session, Professor Okamoto assigns them to “play groups” of five children from the same TV group. She observes the small groups at play and rates each child on the tendency to share toys with other children.
a) no control group
b) biased or non-representative sample
c) interpreting a correlation as indicating cause and effect
d) experimenter bias (experimenters’ expectations influence the results
e) participant bias (participants’ expectations influence the results)
d) experimenter bias (experimenters’ expectations influence the results
The major flaw in this study is the fact that while Professor Okamoto did assign children randomly to the prosocial or neutral groups, she was actively involved in putting children into their play groups as well as observing their behaviours.
This is an example of a possible experimenter bias because Professor Okamoto’s knowledge of the type of television that each child had watched might influence her ratings of each child’s behaviour.
What wrong with this study?
Professor Knudsen wanted to test the effect of a new method of second language instruction for young adults speaking only one language. He introduced the new method in all three of his spring semester German classes. At the end of the semester, he averaged the student grades. Since the overall class average was a B, he concluded that the new method enhanced acquisition of the second language.
a) no control group
b) biased or non-representative sample
c) interpreting a correlation as indicating cause and effect
d) experimenter bias (experimenters’ expectations influence the results
e) participant bias (participants’ expectations influence the results)
a) no control group
The major flaw in this study is lack of a control group. Professor Knudsen administered the new teaching method to all his students so there is absolutely no way to tell whether his method made any difference in his students’ acquisition of the second language.
Without a comparison group, we do not know whether a B average is better or worse than student performance under Professor Knudsen’s old teaching method or even under alternative teaching methods used by other instructors.
Developmentalists must measure?
must measure how people change or remain the same over time.
What is cross-sectional research?
looking at data from a population at one specific point in time
What is longitudinal research?
a research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed
What is cross-sequential research?
studying several groups of people of different ages (a cross-sectional approach) and following them over the years (a longitudinal approach)
When does correlation exists between?
two variables if one variable is more (or less) likely to occur when the other does.
What does a positive correlation mean?
both variables tend to increase or decrease
What does a negative correlation mean?
one variable tends to increase while the other decreases
what does zero correlation mean?
no connection is evident
Correlation is causation!
TRUE or FALSE?
FALSE
Correlation is not causation
What is quantitative research?
provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales
What is qualitative research?
Considers qualities instead of quantities
descriptions of particular conditions and participants’s expressed ideas are often part of qualitative studies
Each academic discipline and professional society involved in the study of human development has a …
code of ethics.
Who are Institutional Review Board(IRB)?
IRB = a group that exists within most educational and medical institutions whose purpose is to ensure that research follows established guidelines and remains ethical.
People who are born within a few years of each other and who travel through life during the same times are called a:
A) peer group
B) cohort
C) context
D) family
B) cohort
Which of the following is NOT used to measure the socioeconomic status (SES) of a family?
A) place of residence
B) income or wealth
C) racial and religious background
D) Occupation and education
C) racial and religious background
One of the most encouraging tenets of the life-span perspective is:
A) durability
B) flexibility
C) Continuity
D) Plasticity
D) Plasticity
A hypothesis is best defined as:
A) a theory that has been proven.
B) a specific prediction that can be tested.
C) research evidence.
D) a conclusion.
B) a specific prediction that can be tested.
Scientific observation can occur:
A) at home.
B) on a public street.
C) all of the above
D) in a laboratory
C) all of the above
Which type of research design combines the cross-sectional design with the longitudinal research design?
A) cross-sectional
B) quasi-experimental
C) cross-sequential
D) meta-sequential
C) cross-sequential
Dr. Bloom wanted to learn whether ice cream preferences change at different stages of development. For her study, she conducted a one-time assessment in which she asked a group of 5 year old, a group of 15 year olds, and a group of 30 year olds to identify they ice cream preferences. Dr Bloom conducted a ____ study.
A) case
B) cross-sectional
C) longitudinal
D) cross-sequential
B) cross-sectional
If you had the funding to complete a lifelong research study on the effects of TV on weight gain, what kind of scientific method would be best fit the study?
a) A correlation study
b) A longitudinal study
c) A cross-sectional study
d) A cross-sequential study
b) A longitudinal study
The second step in the scientific method involves…….?
a) Posing a question
b) Conducting research
c) Developing hypothesis
d) Sharing results
c) Developing hypothesis
The term for all the environmental influences that affect development after conception is _________.
a) Proteins
b) Nurture
c) Nature
d) Amino acids
b) Nurture
The human fetus develops fingers and toes between 28 and 54 days after conception but cannot develop fingers and toes before or after that time. This is an example of ___________.
a) Sensitive period
b) Critical period
c) Discontinuity
d) Continuity
b) Critical period
One of the most encouraging tenets of the life-span perspective is:
a) Durability
b) Flexibility
c) Plasticity
d) Continuity
c) Plasticity
You want to study the long-term effects of parenting styles on self-esteem, but you have only a few months to complete the study. What type of research design should you use?
a) Correlational
b) Longitudinal
c) Cross-sectional
d) Cross-sequential
c) Cross-sectional
Dr. X believes that heredity is primarily responsible for personality traits. Dr. K believes that environmental influences are primarily responsible for personality traits. They are on different sides of the ________ debate.
a) Intelligent design versus evolution
b) Genes verses development
c) Traits versus conditioning
d) Nature versus Nurture
d) Nature versus Nurture
According to the text, not only should research be valid and useful, but it must also be:
a) Ethical
b) Economical
c) Timely
d) Immediately applicable
a) Ethical
Dr. Furth is curious about whether a specific brain chemical can be suppressed if a patient is given a large dose of vitamin E. Dr. Furth's question demonstrates the \_\_\_\_\_ step in the scientific method. A) first B) second C) third D) fourth
A) first
Empirical evidence is based on _____.
A) theories and speculation
B) observation, experience, or experiment
C) inferences based on personal biases
D) opinions generated by focus groups
B) observation, experience, or experiment
The science of human development examines how, but not why, people change over time. TRUE or FALSE
False
_____ studies the many ways in which the environment alters gene expression.
A) Differential susceptibility
B) Ethology
C) Epigenetics
D) The Nature-nurture debate
C) Epigenetics
Which example best illustrates a sensitive period?
A) a child who is born blind
B) an egg being fertilized
C) a fetus developing fingers and toes
D) a child learning to speak a second language
D) a child learning to speak a second language
The influence of nurture begins at conception.
TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
Scientific observation allows for the _____.
A) study of individuals’ behaviors in a systematic and objective manner
B) determination of cause-and-effect relationships
C) observation of participants without their knowledge
D) systematic manipulation of variables
A) study of individuals’ behaviors in a systematic and objective manner
The “difference-equals-deficit” error may lead people to believe that their nation or culture is better than others.
TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
